SANCTION: A Thriller by S.M. Harkness Read Free Book Online Page A

his tanned face around the door.
    “Good afternoon again sir, so sorry to bother you. Imam Nazari has requested your presence in the main residence.” The man was being quite polite, much more than he had been during their first encounter.
    “I will wait for you, to show you the way.”
    Ben decided to leave the phone where it was, concealed under the mattress. It was risky. The servants could raid his room while he was gone and discover it. The Sat phone’s mere existence would be impossible to explain. But he wanted to appear ready, as if he had just been sitting in his empty room with nothing to do when the servant had barged in.
    “I’m ready now actually,” Ben said, flashing the little man a quick smile as he headed toward the door.

6
Quneitra, Syria
Day 2
    N icholas Rhinefeld twisted around so that he faced the center of the room. The archaeologist had counted at least eight kidnappers during the raid but only one stood watch over them at any one time. He figured they probably felt uncomfortable being in the same room as their victims so they spilt up the duty. They’d been cycling through guards every four hours.
    Their current warden wore a Syrian military uniform like the others, only his didn’t fit. It was long in the sleeves and the pants were too tight. The top was also a different shade of green than the pants. Rhinefeld estimated him to be anywhere from twenty to thirty-five years old. Despite his apparent youth however, there was an old look to his eyes, a coldness that Rhinefeld had seen only a few times in his life.
    Around the room the professor surveyed the students. Some of them sat in groups of two or three, while others huddled in their own little corner.
    The sharp odors of vomit and body odor wafted through the room, baking and permeating under the sun that poured in through the only window. The stale hot air gave Rhinefeld an intense headache and the occasional gag reflex that he worked very hard to control.
    Matt Ward sat directly across from Rhinefeld, his legs straight out in front of him, sweat pouring down his face.
    The guard’s walkie-talkie crackled.
    “Azim, come in here,” came the words from the small square device on his hip. Azim seemed to relish the chance to leave. He quickly locked a makeshift wooden door from the outside as he went.
    After a few seconds, Rhinefeld stood.
    “What are you doing? You’re going to get us killed.” The frantic speech came from Jerry Smith, the student Rhinefeld had been forced to knock unconscious in the library in order to save.
    “Be quiet Jerry,” the professor commanded.
    Smith sucked himself tight into a corner, squelched by the professor’s rebuke.
    Rhinefeld’s heart ached as he stared back at the swollen and defeated eyes around the room. He hid the intensity of his emotions well though, his chest rising and falling in steady movements despite the strong urge to break. “Matt, keep an eye on that door.” He said confidently.
    Jerry took interest again, shuddering as he watched the professor walk across the room.
    “Where are you going, I don’t think you should…” Rhinefeld cut him off in mid-sentence with a quick thrust of his hand through the air like a sword.
    “For the last time Mr. Smith, pipe down and I mean it. If I hear another word out of you today, you’re going to get another whack in the side of the head, do you understand me?” He let the question hang there until Jerry complied.
    “Yeah,” he said, curling back up into a ball.
    The professor covered the rest of the distance and maneuvered around a few students that were crammed together in front of a Formica covered countertop.
    “Excuse me,” He said softly.
    Rhinefeld reached up and snatched an aluminum canteen that the guard had left behind. He shook it as he pulled it toward him. It was nearly full.
    He quickly unthreaded the cap and lowered the jug to the student closest to him.
    “Take a tiny sip and pass it to the person next to you. You have